The awareness of injury prevention programmes is insufficient among French- and German-speaking sports medicine communities in Europe

PurposeEvaluate the current state of sports injury prevention perception, knowledge and practice among sports medicine professionals located in Western Europe and involved in injury prevention.MethodsMembers of two different sports medicine organizations (GOTS and ReFORM) were invited to complete a web-based questionnaire (in German and in French, respectively) addressing perception, knowledge and implementation of sports injury prevention through 22 questions.Results766 participants from a dozen of countries completed the survey. Among them, 43% were surgeons, 23% sport physicians and 18% physiotherapists working mainly in France (38%), Germany (23%) and Belgium (10%). The sample rated the importance of injury prevention as high or very high in a majority of cases (91%), but only 54% reported to be aware of specific injury prevention programmes. The French-speaking world was characterized by lower levels of reported knowledge, unfamiliarity with existing prevention programmes and less weekly time spent on prevention as compared to their German-speaking counterparts. Injury prevention barriers reported by the respondents included mainly insufficient expertise, absence of staff support from sports organizations and lack of time.ConclusionThere is a lack of awareness regarding injury prevention concepts among sports medicine professionals of the European French- and German-speaking world. This gap varied according to the professional occupation and working country. Relevant future paths for improvement include specific efforts to build awareness around sports injury prevention.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the current state of sports injury prevention perception, knowledge and practice among sports medicine professionals in Western Europe. A total of 766 participants completed a web-based questionnaire, and the results showed that while the importance of injury prevention was rated high, only 54% were aware of specific injury prevention programs. The French-speaking world showed lower levels of knowledge and familiarity with prevention programs compared to their German-speaking counterparts. Barriers to injury prevention included insufficient expertise, lack of support from sports organizations, and lack of time. The study highlights the need to raise awareness about sports injury prevention.